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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/22369546">Depths of Delusion</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness'>Cornerofmadness</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Altered States [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Prodigal Son (TV 2019)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Malcolm Bright Needs a Hug, Whump</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-01-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 01:01:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,042</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/22369546</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornerofmadness/pseuds/Cornerofmadness</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The team arrives at the mansion to arrest John Watkins but things aren’t all as reported.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Altered States [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1611295</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>238</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Depths of Delusion</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/templefugate/gifts">templefugate</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p><b>Timeline/Spoilers</b> -- Assume spoilers up to the most recent episode and speculation on what happens after <i>Alone Time </i></p><p><b>Warning</b> -- angst</p><p><b>Author’s Note</b> written for templefugate at comment_fic for the prompt Any, any, choose a Sweet Valley High title and have at it!* I chose <i>The Arrest</i>.  I wanted to speculate  on the ending of <i>Alone Time</i> so spoilers for that. (see end notes for the spoilery reasons for this story but yes consider this story a spoiler for the ending of <i>Alone Time</i></p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Gil led his team into Jessica’s home barely ahead of the uniformed police. The EMS workers waited for them to be sure the house was cleared. He’d already been on his way with Dani and JT when he received a call from Ainsley’s phone. A hysterical Jess was on the other end, babbling so fast he could barely understand her. He gathered that Malcolm had somehow freed himself – <i>Told you Whitly, told you Malcolm was bright and resourceful</i> – and stopped Watkins, that he locked him in a box. But Malcolm was badly hurt and so was Ainsley. She had them both upstairs guarding them with her gun – he hoped to hell she wouldn’t shoot them by accident when they came in the house – but she needed help.</p><p>He'd expedited the ambulances and he drove JT’s vehicle like a man possessed. He had a key to the house from years past when he would take Malcolm, sometimes for days at a time so  Jessica could have a break. Gil opened the door, Dani nearly knocking him over in her haste. All of them had their guns drawn because Watkins might be as resourceful as Malcolm in getting free. </p><p>A low whimpering sound reached their ears. A uniformed cop turned on her big flashlight, illuminating their way as they found the source of the simpering moans. Watkins lay on the floor in a pool of blood, a crowbar half embedded into his back. An axe wasn’t far away. JT secured it.  A chill settled over Gil and the horrified expression on Dani’s face was most likely mirrored his own. There was no box. How could Jessica mistake something that important?  </p><p>Watkins didn’t register them, still bleeding freely muttering over and over, ‘Grandma, don’t lock me in the closet.’ Whatever Malcolm had done to him had broken the man. That terrified Gil. He knew deep inside his ersatz son was a kernel of his true father’s darkness but he chose to unleash it with cutting psychological precision.  Gil waved the uniforms in. As they cuffed Watkins, reading him a Miranda warning they’d have to repeat again provided he lived and his sanity returned, Gil led Dani and JT up the dark stairs. This time JT provided the light for them.</p><p>“Jessica, it’s Gil. We’re coming up.”</p><p>“Gil! Hurry, please. They’re still bleeding so badly.”</p><p>He took the steps two at a time, Dani right on his six. JT turned and bellowed for the EMS workers to follow them. Gil would have to go to the basement and restore power but not until he saw if Malcolm and Ainsley would be okay. Jessica met him at the door, grabbing his arm hard enough to hurt. She dragged him inside.</p><p>“Gil, is he… Malcolm said he didn’t kill him,” Jessica said but Gil only half paid attention to her. His breath had been stolen at the sight of her children. Ainsley lay on the bed, blood cloaking her face. She looked barely conscious at this point. Malcolm paced by the window, bare footed, weak limbed. The smell of blood assaulted his nose and beside him Dani gasped, her eyes fixated on the chain and handcuff on Malcolm’s right hand. His left hand seemed extraordinarily large, held against his belly. “I can’t get him to sit. He won’t listen,” she added in a whisper.</p><p>Malcolm staggered toward them. “He came for <i>my</i> family, in <i> my</i> house,” he snarled in a tone so violent Gil had only heard it once or twice before. “I stopped him, put him in a box.”</p><p>“There’s no box, kid but you stopped him,” Gil said, trying to back Malcolm toward the bed. </p><p>He slithered away. “I know what I did. I stopped him. He’s in Dad’s box.”</p><p>“Why would I have that box?” Jessica asked, puzzled.</p><p>Gil slashed a hand to silence her. “We’ll worry about it later. What’s important is Watkins is stopped. Malcolm, come on, sit down for me.”</p><p>“He’s stopped,” Malcolm repeated as Dani took his chained hand. She helped  Gil to sit him down on the edge of the bed.</p><p>“You did great,” Gil assured him, waving JT over with the light. </p><p>Jessica sucked in a deep breath, shielding her mouth with her hands. “I didn’t realize there was so much blood. Oh, Malcolm!”</p><p>“I need to look, kid.” Gil eased his shirt open and pulled away the torn make shift bandage that was mostly hanging off at this point. This time Jessica cried out. “You’ve been stabbed.”</p><p>Malcolm laughed hysterically. “I told you three stabs four inches deep is enough to kill. He only got me once.”</p><p>“Once is enough sometimes,” JT said. </p><p>“Might have gotten my spleen,” Malcolm muttered as Gil screamed for the EMS workers.</p><p>Two teams of them came through the door and he’d like to say they whisked the siblings away but it was a much more laborious process. While they were working, he left Jessica with JT and took Dani with him to check the basement and restore power. That was easy enough. The hidden room under the house would bear more investigation but he’d leave that for the CSI team and for a moment when his own mind was clear – provided the FBI didn’t block him. Right now, Malcolm Ainsley and Jessica needed him more. </p><p>By the time he and Dani got back upstairs the siblings had been transported and Jessica had shed her heels and blood-stained clothing for the most casual thing he’d ever seen her in. She met him at the door.</p><p>“I know that you’ll have to question me. Can’t we do it at the hospital?” she asked.</p><p>“We can.”</p><p>She swayed on her feet. “There’s no box is there? He’s hallucinating.”</p><p>“He’s been tortured, stabbed and he’s off his meds, which that alone can cause hallucinations,” Gil reassured her and himself.</p><p>“And he could be finally broken.”</p><p>Yes, he could be but Gil wasn’t admitting to that. “He’s stronger than any of us know.”</p><p>Jessica nodded. He hoped she believed him. He hoped he was right. All Gil knew was they wouldn’t have answers tonight but he’d worry about that once Malcolm was out of the woods. There would be time enough and he had faith in Malcolm.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>It bothered me that the trunk appeared out of nowhere because why would Jessica have the ‘girl in the box’ trunk sitting in her living room? (and it wasn’t in any other scene so).</p></blockquote></div></div>
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